I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 303 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to permit additional retired members 

of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected disability to receive 

both disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs 

for their disability and either retired pay by reason of their years of 

military service or combat-related special compensation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2019 

Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself and Ms. GABBARD) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to permit additional 

retired members of the Armed Forces who have a serviceconnected disability to receive both disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs for their 

disability and either retired pay by reason of their years 

of military service or combat-related special compensation. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Retired Pay Restora3 tion Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) For more than 100 years before 1999, all 

7 disabled military retirees were required to fund their 

8 own veterans’ disability compensation by forfeiting 

9 one dollar of earned retired pay for each dollar re10 ceived in veterans’ disability compensation. 

11 (2) Since 1999, Congress has enacted legisla12 tion to progressively expand eligibility criteria for re13 lief of the retired pay disability offset and reduce the 

14 burden of financial sacrifice on disabled military re15 tirees. 

16 (3) Absent adequate funding to eliminate the 

17 sacrifice for all disabled retirees, Congress has given 

18 initial priority to easing financial inequities for the 

19 most severely disabled and for combat-disabled retir20 ees. 

21 (4) In the interest of maximizing eligibility 

22 within cost constraints, Congress effectively has au23 thorized full concurrent receipt for all qualifying re24 tirees with 100-percent disability ratings and all 

25 qualifying retirees with combat-related disability rat26 ings, while phasing out the disability offset to retired 


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1 pay over 10 years for retired members with noncom2 bat-related, service-connected disability ratings of 50 

3 percent to 90 percent. 

4 (5) In pursuing these good-faith efforts, Con5 gress acknowledges the regrettable necessity of cre6 ating new thresholds of eligibility that understand7 ably are disappointing to disabled retirees who fall 

8 short of meeting those new thresholds. 

9 (6) Congress is not content with the status quo. 

10 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that military retired pay earned by service and sac12 rifice in defending the United States should not be re13 duced because a military retiree is also eligible for vet14 erans’ disability compensation awarded for service-con15 nected disability. 

16 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT OF BOTH RETIRED PAY 

17 AND VETERANS’ DISABILITY COMPENSATION 

18 FOR CERTAIN ADDITIONAL MILITARY RETIR19 EES WITH COMPENSABLE SERVICE-CON20 NECTED DISABILITIES. 

21 (a) EXTENSION OF CONCURRENT RECEIPT AUTHOR22 ITY TO RETIREES WITH SERVICE-CONNECTED DISABIL23 ITIES RATED LESS THAN 50 PERCENT.—Section 1414(a) 

24 of title 10, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘COMPENSATION’’ in the sub2 section heading and all that follows through ‘‘Sub3 ject’’ and inserting ‘‘COMPENSATION.—Subject’’; 

4 and 

5 (2) by striking paragraph (2). 

6 (b) AMENDMENTS TO REFLECT CONCLUSION OF

7 PHASE-IN OF CONCURRENT RECEIPT OF RETIRED PAY

8 AND VETERANS’ DISABILITY COMPENSATION.—Section 

9 1414 of title 10, United States Code, is further amend10 ed— 

11 (1) in subsection (a), as amended by subsection 

12 (a) of this section, by striking the final sentence; 

13 (2) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating 

14 subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d), 

15 respectively; and 

16 (3) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by 

17 striking paragraphs (3) and (4). 

18 (c) SPECIFICATION OF QUALIFIED RETIREES FOR

19 CONCURRENT RECEIPT PURPOSES.—Section 1414 of title 

20 10, United States Code, is further amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a), as amended by sub22 sections (a) and (b)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘a member or’’ and all that 

24 follows through ‘‘is entitled’’ and inserting ‘‘an 


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1 individual who is a qualified retiree for any 

2 month is entitled’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘retired pay and veterans’ 

4 disability compensation’’ after ‘‘both’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘SPECIAL RULES’’ in the 

7 subsection heading and all that follows through 

8 ‘‘is subject to’’ and inserting ‘‘SPECIAL RULES

9 FOR CHAPTER 61 DISABILITY RETIREES.—In 

10 the case of a qualified retiree who is retired 

11 under chapter 61 of this title, the retired pay 

12 of the member is subject to’’; and 

13 (B) by striking paragraph (2); and 

14 (3) in subsection (d), as redesignated and 

15 amended by subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

16 following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED RETIREE.—The term ‘qualified 

18 retiree’ means a member or former member of the 

19 uniformed services who, with respect to any 

20 month— 

21 ‘‘(A) is entitled to retired pay, other than 

22 in the case of a member retired under chapter 

23 61 of this title with less than 20 years of serv24 ice creditable under section 1405 of this title 


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1 and less than 20 years of service computed 

2 under section 12732 of this title; and 

3 ‘‘(B) is entitled to veterans’ disability com4 pensation.’’. 

5 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) SECTION HEADING.—The heading of section 

7 1414 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to 

8 read as follows: 

9 ‘‘§ 1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also 

10 eligible for veterans’ disability compensa11 tion: Concurrent payment of retired pay 

12 and disability compensation’’. 

13 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The item relating to 

14 such section in the table of sections at the beginning 

15 of chapter 71 of title 10, United States Code, is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

‘‘1414. Members eligible for retired pay who are also eligible for veterans’ disability compensation: Concurrent payment of retired pay and 

disability compensation.’’. 

17 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1413a(f) of 

18 title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Sub19 section (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subsection (c)’’. 

20 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall take effect as of January 1, 2020, and 

22 shall apply to payments for months beginning on or after 

23 that date. 

Æ 


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